Major attractions of Gadisar Lake are Lake and birds.It is
not an oasis but a water conservation tank made around
1400 A.D. by the maharaja of Jaisalmer, Maharwal Gadsi
Singh. Outside the city walls this structure acts as a
reservoir that controlled the entire supply of water to
the arid city!
This place was selected because it had a certain amount of
declivity already and it automatically retained some of
the rainwater. If you are lucky and venture out in
winters, you might get to see a variety of migratory
birds. Due to its closeness to Bharatpur, some of the
birds get attracted to this place also.
Gadisar Lake is surrounded by Wide Varities of temples and
shrines.In later years it became more of a pilgrimage
spot. The beautiful gateway that arches across the road
down to the Lake was built by royal courtesan named Tillon
in the end of 19th century, known as Tillon Ki prol (Gate
of Tillon). Lord Vishnu's statue was installed in the year
1908 A.D. or the gate by the courtesan & declared Krishna
Temple to save it from demolition by the Maharawal.
Presently the lake is no longer used for the purpose it
was built for, but still retains a lot of rain water. The
Gadisar Lake can be visited any time of the day, though it
is best to go early in the morning and watch the sun rise.
The local people at Gadisar sell bread to nourish the
hungry catfish in the lake.
There is also a Desert Culture Centre, a museum located
near the lake which preserves the culture, heritage,
history, traditional art and music of the region, since
its foundation in 1997. It was founded by N.K Sharma, a
teacher, historian and author of “The Golden City”, a
well-known book on Jaisalmer. |